Gopiballavpur

History

Earlier this area was a part of Mayurbhanj princely state. The place was earlier known as Kashipur. Shyamananda Mahaprabhu, a prominent figure in the Vaishnava sect, was being commanded by Shrimati Radha Rani to travel and carry the holy waters of Yamuna to this place and establish a temple since then the village is named after Gopiballav (Sri Krishna). Kashipur came to be known as Gopiballavpur since then. The village houses this old temple since 1400 and its being run and administered by Vaishnava Goswami Families since then. Currently the Mahant is the head of the temple.

The temple is known as Shri Radha Govinda Mandir and known to the vaishnavas as "Gupta Vrindavan". It houses the idols of Shri Radha Govind Ji and Smt. Radha Rani along with idols of Jagannatha Mahaprabhu, Balabhadra and Subadhra. An annual Car Festival (Ratha Yatra) is held every year. Gopiballabpur also houses ancient Mahadev Temple where Gajan Mela is held every year. Besides Gajon, Chorok Mela, Snan Jatra, Jhulon Jatra are prominent festivals in the area. The chou dancers from Orissa are brought every year to give performances to audience in these fairs.

Geography

Gopiballavpur is located at 22.22°N 86.9°E / 22.22; 86.9. It has an average elevation of 34 metres (114 feet).

The town is on the banks of the Subarnarekha River near the Jharkhand and Orissa borders.

Scenic Attractions

There are Forest Bungalows in Hatibari, 20 km from Gopiballavpur, which is situated near Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand border. These bungalows are situated in dense forest and developed for the natural lover to enjoy the wild life with the local forest animals. As this area is well known for the elephant zone spread from Jhargram to Dumla range. Once this forest is also well known for the red zone for Maoist belt .Now the time changes and local people return to mainstream. This place is safe for the tourist; local people are also friendly nature. The combination of river with dense forest in its bank creates an awesome look for the visitors. Rameshwar is another temple in this area.Jhilli dam is near to 10 kilometer from Gopiballavpur.This one of the popular tourist spot in Paschim Medinipur district. The surrounding atmosphere of dense forest and Subarna Rekha River present a marvelous look. This lake or dam converted into bird sanctuary during winter season when the migrated birds from north come here.Rameswar temple of Gopiballavpur is believed that constructed by lord Rama on the request of queen Sita with the help of Vishwakarma.

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Gopiballavpur had a total population of 4,061 of which 2,055 (51%) were males and 2,006 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 401. The total number of literates in Gopiballavpur was 3,111 (76.61% of the population over 6 years).

Police station

Gopiballavpur police station has jurisdiction over Gopiballavpur I CD Block.

Transportation

Gopiballavpur is accessible by roadways from Kolkata and Orissa both. Regular deluxe bus service from Esplanade to Gopiballavpur are available. Prominent players are the Nilmadhaba Bus Service,Joymadhavba Bus Service, Devdas Bus Service, Das & Das Bus Service and the buses of Dhumsai route. Night service buses to Cuttack, Bhubaneswar & Puri are available.

For railways, Gopiballavpur is about (48 km) from Jhargram. Take Ispat Express from Howrah station in the morning to reach Jhargram. The journey takes a little more than two hours. Also, several buses from Kharagpur railway station are available.

State Highway 9 (West Bengal) running from Durgapur (in Bardhaman district) to Nayagram (in Paschim Medinipur) passes through Gopiballavpur.

Schools

College